Thursday, October 9, 2008

I'll be honest, I'm not crazy about this cartoon. I like the idea of playing around with cartoon logic within a cartoon, but I don't think this one is particularly successful. I hope some readers liked it, though. I'm not always a good judge of what people will like.

So instead, I'll offer you another one of my adult cartoons. The cartoon linked below has never been published anywhere, so this is the first time anyone other than the cartoon editor at Playboy, my wife, or I have seen it.

I used to publish cartoons in Playboy a few years ago, I think there were six or eight over the course of a year and a half, maybe. I stopped submitting because, oddly enough, they were too restrictive. Hefner still vets all the cartoons that go into the magazine and he's really picky. He wants the women to be hot in the Playboy sense, so you can't do a joke that features fat women, old women, creepy women, ugly women. My "Medusa on a nude beach" cartoon was rejected, for instance. He wants the cartoons to glorify sexual liberation and be the stuff of fantasy, not reality, so there goes any joke about a nagging wife or STDs or transvestitesor homosexuality, etc... They can't feature anything about bondage or it can't be exported to Canada, which is why the one below was rejected. The list of "no-nos" goes on and on. After a while, all you're left with is the same dozen subjects you've seen in Playboy for five decades now.

I don't mean to criticize the cartoonists who work and have worked for Playboy. There are many legends among them and thousands of classic cartoons have come from that magazine. My objection is purely about the limitations of subject matter.

This one was submitted before I knew of the "no bondage" themes rule. I like to keep this blog suitable for all ages, so if you're under 18, ask your guardian if you click on Naughty Mr. Potato Head. Or any of the above links, come to think of it.

"They can't feature anything about bondage or it can't be exported to Canada, which is why the one below was rejected"

Because...the first thing that comes to mind with aluminum foil is bondage. I would caution any readers against driving into Canada with a sack of potatoes and Reynold's Wrap. Kustoms will not be amused.